Alan Beattie
@alanbeattie.bsky.social
Opiner for Financial Times in London. Globalisation, econ, snark. RT≠👍. Views own. alan.beattie@ft.com. Sign up to my FT Trade Secrets newsletter https://subs.ft.com/spa3_tradesecrets?segmentId=357afa03-959c-93ed-0842-58e2115025d4.
See this is where you want Roger Moore back as Bond. He could do this without even needing to deliver a line, just with the raising of an eyebrow. Ironically however Moore is actually dead.
November 11, 2025 at 12:25 PM
See this is where you want Roger Moore back as Bond. He could do this without even needing to deliver a line, just with the raising of an eyebrow. Ironically however Moore is actually dead.
But not really putting any diplomatic heft behind it afaics. Their focus was just on the currency because of the continuing obsession with US manufacturing.
November 11, 2025 at 9:36 AM
But not really putting any diplomatic heft behind it afaics. Their focus was just on the currency because of the continuing obsession with US manufacturing.
I’m just relieved to find a children’s TV presenter who’s not obviously a massive wrong ‘un.
November 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I’m just relieved to find a children’s TV presenter who’s not obviously a massive wrong ‘un.
I was actually thinking more of the turn away from market liberalisation which was very much a Zhu thing and doubling down on the export-oriented model.
November 10, 2025 at 10:35 PM
I was actually thinking more of the turn away from market liberalisation which was very much a Zhu thing and doubling down on the export-oriented model.
I thought it was just me! Every time I see the name I have to remind myself he's not the "and Dec" one as well.
November 10, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I thought it was just me! Every time I see the name I have to remind myself he's not the "and Dec" one as well.
True but I think it took 9/11 to get him to do anything on foreign policy (in the Jacksonian tradition obvs). Before then, admittedly on only 8 months' evidence, he was all about the hemispheric foreign policy and not nation-building.
November 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM
True but I think it took 9/11 to get him to do anything on foreign policy (in the Jacksonian tradition obvs). Before then, admittedly on only 8 months' evidence, he was all about the hemispheric foreign policy and not nation-building.
Still finding it hard to imagine GWB pressing China on human rights and democracy. He was basically Jacksonian.
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Still finding it hard to imagine GWB pressing China on human rights and democracy. He was basically Jacksonian.
Sorry to tell you I've already bought all the winning tickets for this year so you'll have to wait till next.
November 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Sorry to tell you I've already bought all the winning tickets for this year so you'll have to wait till next.
Did China really get dragged into the WoT? The focus from around 2002 was very largely on currencies and remained so for a decade.
November 10, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Did China really get dragged into the WoT? The focus from around 2002 was very largely on currencies and remained so for a decade.
True at the beginning of the 2000s I would say but faded as Jiang gave way to Hu and esp Zhu to Wen.
November 10, 2025 at 7:26 PM
True at the beginning of the 2000s I would say but faded as Jiang gave way to Hu and esp Zhu to Wen.
Superb compliance by a thinly-populated principality off to the west there, well done to our daffodil-donning pals.
November 10, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Superb compliance by a thinly-populated principality off to the west there, well done to our daffodil-donning pals.
This appears not to be normalised by population? Also pretty small sample sizes.
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM
This appears not to be normalised by population? Also pretty small sample sizes.